The dynamical scaling theory of phase transitions begins below the phase transition and extrapolates the frequencies, by means of the temperature continuity at a finite wave number, through the critical point into the temperature region above the transition. Applied to the ferromagnet, this approach leads to the observed five-halves critical dispersion at the Curie point. In the paramagnetic region it yields the critical slowing down of spin diffusion with a critical exponent of one-third. An alternative approach beginning in the paramagnetic region has been developed from the basic statistical mechanics of spin interaction. In the present paper, we present a simplified version of this approach, based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The relevant form of this theorem is easily derived along familiar lines and involves obtaining an expression for the spin current. The spin diffusi on coefficient is then expressed in terms of the ratio of the fluctuations in spin current aud spin density. The correlation function for the current fluctuations can be evaluated by factoring (decoupled-mode approximation). The results are shown to be equivalent of those obtained by the other methods, and a simple explanation is given for the rise of the scaling function outside of the hydrodynamic region.
The dynamical scaling theory of phase transitions begins below the phase transition and extrapolates the frequencies, by means of the temperature continuity at a finite wave number, through the critical point into the temperature region above the transition. Applied to the ferromagnet, this approach leads to the observed five-halves critical dispersion at the Curie point. In the paramagnetic region it yields the critical slowing down of spin diffusion with a critical exponent of one-third. An alternative approach beginning in the paramagnetic region has been developed from the basic statistical mechanics of spin interaction. In the present paper, we present a simplified version of this approach, based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The relevant form of this theorem is easily derived along familiar lines and involves obtaining an expression for the spin current. The spin diffusi on coefficient is then expressed in terms of the ratio of the fluctuations in spin current aud spin density. The correlation function for the current fluctuations can be evaluated by factoring (decoupled-mode approximation). The results are shown to be equivalent of those obtained by the other methods, and a simple explanation is given for the rise of the scaling function outside of the hydrodynamic region.
The dynamics of critical fluctuations is treated theoretically by extending the usual macroscopic dynamical variables to include all other dynamical variables that could exhibit the critical slowing-down. The equations of motion for these generalized macroscopic dynamical variables are derived with the help of Mori's general theory of Brownian motion, which involve the “first moment frequency matrix” Ωq and the microscopic damping for these new dynamical variables, where q is the wave vector characterizing macroscopic inhomogeneity. The latter involves only the dynamical variables that perform rapid random motions and is disregarded, or is disposed of by means of a dimensional argument. Then the dynamics of critical fluctuations is completely governed by Ωq which is expressed in terms of equaltime correlations of long wave-length fluctuations only and allows the analysis with the help of the Widom-Kadanoff static scaling laws. The theory is applied to the problem of anomalous spin relaxations in ferro and antiferromagnets in the paramagnetic region, and the inverse characteristic times near the transition points are found to behave asymptotically as κ(5-η)/2f(q/κ) and κ3/2f(q/κ), respectively, where κ is the inverse correlation range of spin fluctuations and η the parameter measuring the deviation of spin pair correlation from the Ornstein-Zernike form. Finally a close analogy is pointed out between the present treatment of critical fluctuations are the theory of hydrodynamic turbulence.
We calculate the dynamic structure factor $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ in the paramagnetic regime of quantum Heisenberg ferromagnets for temperatures T close to the critical temperature Tc using our recently developed functional renormalization group approach to quantum spin systems. In d=3 dimensions, we find that for small momenta $\mathbit{k}$ and frequencies $\ensuremath{\omega}$ the dynamic structure factor assumes the scaling form $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})=(\ensuremath{\tau}TG(\mathbit{k})/\ensuremath{\pi})\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Phi}}(k\ensuremath{\xi},\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\tau})$, where $G(\mathbit{k})$ is the static spin-spin correlation function, $\ensuremath{\xi}$ is the correlation length, and the characteristic timescale $\ensuremath{\tau}$ is proportional to ${\ensuremath{\xi}}^{5/2}$. We explicitly calculate the dynamic scaling function $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Phi}}(x,y)$ and find satisfactory agreement with neutron scattering experiments probing the critical spin dynamics in EuO and EuS. Precisely at the critical point where $\ensuremath{\xi}=\ensuremath{\infty}$, our result for the dynamic structure factor can be written as $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})={(\ensuremath{\pi}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{k})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}{T}_{c}G(\mathbit{k}){\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}_{c}(\ensuremath{\omega}/{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{k})$, where ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{k}\ensuremath{\propto}{k}^{5/2}$. We find that ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}_{c}(\ensuremath{\nu})$ vanishes as ${\ensuremath{\nu}}^{\ensuremath{-}13/5}$ for large $\ensuremath{\nu}$, and as ${\ensuremath{\nu}}^{3/5}$ for small $\ensuremath{\nu}$. While the large-frequency behavior of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}_{c}(\ensuremath{\nu})$ is consistent with calculations based on mode-coupling theory and with perturbative renormalization group calculations to second order in $\ensuremath{\epsilon}=6\ensuremath{-}d$, our result for small frequencies disagrees with previous calculations. We argue that until now, neither experiments nor numerical simulations have been sufficiently accurate to determine the low-frequency behavior of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}}_{c}(\ensuremath{\nu})$. We also calculate the low-temperature behavior of $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ in one- and two-dimensional ferromagnets and find that it satisfies dynamic scaling with exponent z=2 and exhibits a pseudogap for small frequencies.
Closed non-linear equations are derived through mode-coupling approximations for the correlation functions and susceptibilities for the Edwards-Anderson model of a classical Heisenberg system with nearest-neighbour random exchange couplings. These equations, which exhibit full dynamical stability, lead to a self-consistent treatment of spin-density propagation and spin-current relaxation. They are found to describe a transition from a paramagnetic to a spin glass phase, which is viewed as one where the dynamics changes from ergodic to a non-ergodic behaviour. Near the critical temperature T c the low-frequency correlation functions are obtained as dynamical scaling laws governed by a critical frequency omega c , which slows down proportionally to epsilon 2 , with epsilon =(T-T c )/T c . Approaching the critical point from the paramagnetic side the diffusivity vanishes linearly with epsilon . The susceptibility exhibits a symmetric cusp. The drastic changes of the spin dynamics at the transition point show up most clearly for the spin-current spectra. The numerical solution of the equations is discussed.
To set the stage for our subsequent thorough discussion of dynamic critical phenomena, we first review the theoretical description of second-order equilibrium phase transitions. (Readers already well acquainted with this material may readily move on to Chapter 2.) To this end, we compare the critical exponents following from the van-der-Waals equation of state for weakly interacting gases with the results from the Curie–Weiss mean-field approximation for the ferromagnetic Ising model. We then provide a unifying description in terms of Landau–Ginzburg theory, i.e., a long-wavelength expansion of the effective free energy with respect to the order parameter. The Gaussian model is analyzed, and a quantitative criterion is established that defines the circumstances when non-linear fluctuations need to be taken into account properly. Thereby we identify d c = 4 as the upper critical dimension for generic continuous phase transitions in thermal equilibrium. The most characteristic feature of a critical point turns out to be the divergence of the correlation length that renders microscopic details oblivious. As a consequence, not only the correlation functions, but remarkably the thermodynamics as well of a critical system are governed by an emergent unusual symmetry: scale invariance. A simple scaling ansatz is capable of linking different critical exponents; as an application, we introduce the basic elements of finite-size scaling. Finally, a brief sketch of Wilson's momentum shell renormalization group method is presented, intended as a pedagogical preview of the fundamental RG ideas. Exploiting the scale invariance properties at the critical point, the scaling forms of the free energy and the order parameter correlation function are derived.
We use the functional renormalization approach for quantum spin systems developed by Krieg and Kopietz [Phys. Rev. B 99, 060403(R) (2019)] to calculate the spin-spin correlation function $G(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ of quantum Heisenberg magnets at infinite temperature. For small wave vectors $\mathbit{k}$ and frequencies $\ensuremath{\omega}$ we find that $G(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ assumes in dimensions d>2 the diffusive form predicted by hydrodynamics. In three dimensions our result for the spin-diffusion coefficient D is somewhat smaller than previous theoretical predictions based on the extrapolation of the short-time expansion, but is still about 30 larger than the measured high-temperature value of D in the Heisenberg ferromagnet ${\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}{\mathrm{CuBr}}_{4}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}\mathrm{O}$. In reduced dimensions $d\ensuremath{\le}2$ we find superdiffusion characterized by a frequency-dependent complex spin-diffusion coefficient $\mathcal{D}(\ensuremath{\omega})$ which diverges logarithmically in d=2, and as a power-law $\mathcal{D}(\ensuremath{\omega})\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\omega}}^{\ensuremath{-}1/3}$ in d=1. Our result in one dimension implies scaling with dynamical exponent z=3/2, in agreement with recent calculations for integrable spin chains. Our approach is not restricted to the hydrodynamic regime and allows us to calculate the dynamic structure factor $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ for all wave vectors. We show how the short-wavelength behavior of $S(\mathbit{k},\ensuremath{\omega})$ at high temperatures reflects the relative sign and strength of competing exchange interactions.
A method to calculate the dynamical as well as the static properties of the Ising ferromagnet, developed in the previous paper for the two-dimensional square lattice, is extended to cubic lattices. The temperature dependence of the frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility, approach to equilibrium of the magnetization of the system, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, and some static properties are calculated. It is proved that all these properties are essentially the same for cubic lattices and for two-dimensional model. It is further demonstrated by explicit calculation that the non-linear effect is very important for the critical slowing-down near the Curie point, especially in the ferromagnetic region.